UK admits Trident nuclear missile ‘anomaly’ caused test misfire, dismisses rocket booster reports
Despite a resolute defense of Trident by the UK MoD, the latest misfire will likely raise questions about the stability of the UK nuclear deterrent.
Norway, UK join forces to lead Maritime Capability Coalition for Ukraine, counter Russian threat
"This [coalition support] will be long term to help Ukraine transform its navy, making it more compatible with western allies, more interoperable with NATO, and bolstering security in the Black Sea," said the UK Ministry of Defence.
Second depth gauge saved UK Vanguard nuclear sub diving dangerously low, defense minister says
James Heappey, UK armed forces minister, offered the latest comments about the incident that reportedly happened more than a year ago but has been shrouded in secrecy.
UK Royal Navy completes Mojave UAS flight and recovery from Prince of Wales aircraft carrier
“For the purpose of the test, direct line of sight was used, but in some future world operators would fly this just like a MQ-9 flies today, over satellite and remotely,” GA-ASI's C. Mark Brinkley told Breaking Defense.
AUKUS nations test undersea unmanned tech in defense of critical infrastructure
The exercise between the US, UK and Australia comes just weeks after a trio of European nations said their respective subsea infrastructure had been damaged.
UK naval chief on threats to undersea infrastructure: ‘We don’t fully understand’ solutions
Adm. Ben Key, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, made his comments hours after Sweden stated that an undersea telecommunications cable between Sweden and Estonia had been damaged.
UK signs off on $4.9B AUKUS submarine design phase contracts with industry trio
“The aim is to deliver the first UK submarines into service in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-Class vessels, and the first Australian submarines will follow in the early 2040s,” said the UK Ministry of Defence.
HII, Babcock announce ‘strategic partnership’ on nuclear decoms, construction
The announcement with UK firm Babcock comes at a time when the US is preparing to start disposing of older nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
UK denies it’s in talks with Turkey over submarine construction, despite Erdogan comments
A spokesperson for the Royal Navy told Breaking Defense in a Wednesday statement that “no one knows anything of these [Turkish] discussions,” including teams from the UK’s Submarine Delivery Agency, Defence Nuclear Organisation and shipbuilder BAE Systems.
UK tests 7 uncrewed systems for Heavy Lift Challenge future capabilities program
UASHLC has been designed to explore future uncrewed maritime concepts, including assessment of ship-to-ship (intra-theater) and ship-to-shore (inter-theater) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) resupply operations, potentially covering uncrewed delivery of humanitarian aid items, ammunition and spare parts.
UK Royal Navy ‘confident’ a starboard propeller problem on aircraft carrier not a class-wide issue
Once the repairs conclude, the 72,000-ton ship will return to base in Portsmouth to undergo planned maintenance and “re-join operations” in fall 2023, a UK defense committee heard.
Big British Queen Elizabeth Carrier Featured At Paris Air Show
PARIS AIR SHOW: First it was cyber. Now I find myself covering ships at an air show. Ok. They are aircraft carriers so I guess we can give the Queen Elizabeth carriers a pass. The big news here? The first of the two ships should sail for the first time later this month, or maybe next […]
F-35 ‘Not Out Of Control’: F-35A Prices Drop 5.5%
ARLINGTON: One week after President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted that the cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was “out of control,” the F-35 program office announced the price of most variants had dropped yet again. The contract for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 9 will buy 57 aircraft, 34 for the US and 23 […]
US, UK Do ‘Groundbreaking’ Drone Exercise Off Scotland
The multinational Unmanned Warrior exercise off the coast of Scotland is doing “really groundbreaking” work on naval drones, said one participating US scientist. There’ve been “a number of world firsts” in networking unmanned vehicles of different types and from different nations into a single unit, Marcus Tepaske, science advisor for the Office of Naval Research, […]
US, UK In Giant Drone Wargame Off Scotland
The US Navy needs to get better at hunting sea mines. The Royal Navy needs to get better at robots. So the two fleets are joining forces off Scotland in what the Brits are calling “the largest demonstration of its type, ever,” Unmanned Warrior 2016, with “more than 50 unmanned vehicles from over 40 organizations.” […]